IndianaUmp

jaybird, Great post! That's exactly what I say to coaches in the same situation. We would never have anybody advance on wild pitches if we had to call the ball dead when it hits the ground. As you say, they usually get the point then. On the topic of coaches ignorant of the rules, I had a doozy this past weekend in a LL All-Star tourney. A pretty good coach, too, with a very good team--but he didn't know the rules. Twice he challenged me on rules. First time: Runner on third with two outs when batter hits dribbler down first base line. First baseman fields it and tags the batter/runner. Coach wants to know if the run counts because it's a tag play and he thinks the runner crossed the plate before the tag! I say, no, it's still a force play, even though he tagged him since the batter was forced to 1st. He insists I don't know the rule but finally stomps off to dugout. Then in a later game--the championship game--his first baseman fields a grounder to his right and races runner to bag. Runner definitely gets there first, so I call him safe. First baseman runs through the baseline and makes incidental contact with runner. You guessed it! Coach wants me to call the runner out for interference because "he's supposed to avoid contact"!

Last month in a 13-14 age game, I had a kid hanging over the plate so far that he was blocking my view of the pitch. Sure enough, a pitch comes inside and he turns his shoulder into it. I make him stay, and announce that he has to make an attempt to avoid getting hit. (Turns out he had been hit 12 times in 12 games!) His coach doesn't even question it. But of course some clown in the stands does, and then I have three more HBP later in the game, all of them plunked right in the back while bailing out. Naturally, the clown in the stands says every time, "Hey, blue, he's got to make an attempt to get out of the way!"

Found it! FED rule 8-4-2 g: "If, in the judgment of the umpire, a runner including the batter-runner interferes in any way and prevents a double play anywhere, two shall be declared out (the runner who interfered and the other runner involved)." Still, I think I would have to be pretty convinced that, in the situation in my OP, the runner they were trying to pick off was really going to be nailed. Agree?

Thanks, Mr. Umpire! I made a no-call, which didn't cause any problems--maybe because it was just an instructional game--but I worried about it later and asked several more experienced umps for their opinions. (I've done mostly LL and Koufax games for about four years.) About half said I could call the runner out, and the other half said no--a couple quite emphatically. The rule you cited in OBR is clear, but I will check out the FED rule now to see what it says.

I know that with less than two out I can call a runner stealing home out on batter's interference, but is there any other situation in which I can do that? Here's why I ask: Couple weeks ago in a summer hs instructional league game, I've got an 0-2 count on a right-handed batter, no outs, and a runner on first. Pitcher throws an outside curveball and batter fishes for it and misses, leaning over plate as he does so. To make matters worse, he just keeps going toward his dugout (1st base), running right in front of the catcher, who sees runner with a big lead and tries to pick him off. No contact, but definitely BI as the catcher has to hesitate as he tries to throw around him. Needless to say, the runner makes it back easily. The usual penalty, of course, is to call the runner out and send a stealing runner back to original base. But the batter is already out on the K, and the runner wasn't stealing, just ripe for a pick-off. If I think the BI caused the catcher not to pick off the runner, can I call the runner out since the batter is already out? Or just let the play stand?

Although I basically agree with those who said not to coach while umping, I understand that it's very tough not to offer the occasional suggestion to catchers in particular at the younger levels, especially when they are too far behind the plate. It's doubly tough for me because I coach at the local high school and do some umping in youth games when I can in the summer. These guys are my future players! Can't tell you how many times I see kids up to bat with their hands twisted around too far (don't have "knocking knuckles" lined up or even close), elbows sticking way up and too far away from their bodies. So far I've resisted the temptation to call time and fix them! LOL What I do instead is conduct a free coaching clinic in the spring with my staff helping out and we invite all youth coaches. That's when I share some of the things I see when umping. No favoritism there--all have equal access to the clinic.